The most “accomplished” album Rush ever made, according to Geddy Lee
Throughout every era of progressive rock, there was never a genre that didn’t suit Rush. Whether it was working in grand epics or just making kickass rock and roll tunes, the Canadian power trio could turn anything they touched into gold, all while reinventing themselves as 1980s synth aficionados and new wave darlings along the way. Although Geddy Lee may have a particular soft spot for every era of the band’s career, he thought one record showed how far they had come as musicians.
Looking through the group’s discography, though, it’s easy to see their musical development across every single record. While albums like Caress of Steel may not have been understood in their time, for instance, they would help pave the way for even more daring works later on albums like Hemispheres.
After deciding to streamline their sound at the end of the 1970s, though, the band started to pair down the complexity on albums like Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures. While there may have still been wildly different time signatures going on in every song, the tunefulness of tracks like ‘Limelight’ and ‘Tom Sawyer’ would become rock anthems, proving that progressive rock could reach the masses with the right idea.
When talking to Rush fans about the 1980s, though, the group’s synthesiser period is usually contentious. After embracing the sounds of keyboards, albums like Power Windows and Hold Your Fire would become sticking points for their core audience and amongst the band, with Alex Lifeson never finding his voice during this period.
Although the band eventually returned to straight-ahead rock and roll on albums like Vapor Trails, they were still writing adventurous tunes. With Neil Peart getting more introspective following the loss of his family, the band’s introduction to the 2000s made for one of the most earnest albums they had ever released, all while killing off the synthesiser period for good.
By the time the band got to recording what would become their final material, there was one artistic risk that had taken on yet: the concept album. Despite playing side-long songs that told a compelling story, Clockwork Angels was the first time the group committed to the idea of a conceptual record, telling the story of a steampunk alternate reality and the protagonist at the centre of it all.
The band also worked outside their power trio confines for the first time, bringing in various string sections to give a heightened mood to the songs. Even though this would become the band’s unintended swan song after they retired in the 2010s, Lee thought it was the best note for the group to go out on.
When talking about the making of the album later, Lee thought they had pushed themselves the farthest on Clockwork Angels, saying, “From personal chemistry writing vibe, it was the happiest collaboration we’d had since we were kids. From a songwriter’s point of view, it’s probably the most accomplished piece of work we did in our entire history.”
It’s easy to hear that collaborative spirit in the album as well, from the pure Zeppelin-like swagger on ‘Headlong Flight’ to bringing everything to a stirring close on the ballad ‘The Garden’. While Clockwork Angels may not have been the best album Rush ever made, it’s nice to see the band ending on their terms rather than fading into the background.
What makes Clockwork Angels resonate so strongly in hindsight is how intentional it feels. There is no sense of obligation or nostalgia driving the record, only a band choosing to challenge itself one last time. Rather than revisiting old formulas, Rush leaned into storytelling, arrangement, and mood, trusting their accumulated experience to carry the weight. It is the sound of musicians who know exactly who they are and feel no need to prove it.
For Geddy Lee, that confidence is what elevates the album above the rest of the catalogue. It captures the full arc of Rush’s evolution without reducing it to a summary or farewell gesture. Clockwork Angels stands not as a goodbye, but as a final statement of intent, showing a band still curious, still collaborative, and still willing to stretch themselves right to the en
